Monday, August 24, 2015

The population of Muslims in India is slightly more than 14.2%. The last census was conducted in 2011 but the figures about religions were not disclosed till as late as 2015.

There is lot of confusion about figures of Muslims in Indian states. The reason is that various reports are cited including estimates of United States (US) agencies and other international organisations like PEW group.

Also, there is a trend of 'exaggeration' among sections of Muslims, which creates misconceptions. We must know the figures as per the census report. Here is the Muslim population in different states as per the government of India's official figures.

Muslim population is highest in Uttar Pradesh, which is home to 3.84 crore Muslims but they account for nearly 19.5% of the population of the state, followed by West Bengal, Bihar, Maharashtra, Assam and Kerala.

The percentage of Muslims is highest in Jammu-Kashmir among big states and in Lakshadwip among the union territories. These are figures as per census 2011, and the current figure would be slightly high. The next census will take place in 2021.

The big five are UP, WB, Bihar, Maharashtra and Assam--each having more than 1 crore or 10 million Muslims. The states that have 5-10 million Muslims include Kerala, Jammu Kashmir, Karnataka, Rajasthan.

Then comes, the states that have 20-50 lakh Muslims [2-5 million]. They include Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Delhi. Next come, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Tripura.

But even states like Haryana, Orissa (now Odisha) and Punjab that have lesser Muslims, often have cities, towns and regions that have a strong Muslim concentration or Muslim dominated pockets where the impact of Muslims on local culture is quite visible.

[*Jointly, Andhra Pradesh+Telangana, population in Census 2011 was 8.45 crore, which meant there were 81 lakh Muslims (9.6%). Andhra is a bigger state in terms of population but has less Muslim percent. Telangana has a higher Muslim population than Andhra. After bifurcation, the religious population hasn't been officially known for both states].

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